The Women was among the most checked-out books in U.S. public libraries this year, making top-10 lists in library systems as far-flung as those in Clawson, Mich., Lawrence, Kan., Flathead County, Mont., and the entire state public library system of Hawaii. It was also the year's most-borrowed ebook on the public library app, Libby. The bestselling novel by Kristin Hannah follows a U.S. Army nurse from the frontlines of the Vietnam War to a family deeply divided about the war and her service.
This year I couldn't narrow it down to 15, so you get 20 recommendations. Call it literary inflation. Also, after last year's list was published, I got an email from a reader who decried that I had so few titles by female authors on my list (fair enough). This time I made a special effort to include a majority of books written by women.